I’m still the first to argue that going to Disneyland or Walt Disney World is worth every penny, but it’s certainly true that a trip to either park is going to cost you a lot of pennies. Disney Parks are expensive, and they’re only getting more expensive as time goes on. Lots of people complain about the fact that Disney seems to continue to find new ways to add costs to vacations, and even former Disney CEO Michael Eisner thinks it’s gone too far.
Michael Eisner Is “Not Wild” About How Expensive Disney Parks Are
In a recent interview with Graham Bensinger (via Boardwalk Times), Eisner talks about his time at Disney, as well as what has happened at the House of Mouse in the years since. He’s largely very complimentary of the state of DIsney by saying the company is in “great shape” and calling soon-to-retire Bob Iger an “excellent CEO.” However, he does part ways with the current regime in one area: the cost to go to Disneyland and Disney World. On that, Eisner says…
I’m not wild about the fact that it is so expensive now to go to Disneyland or Walt Disney World. I’m not wild about the fact that it’s harder than ever to have everybody be a VIP at a Disney Park because they’re selling certain things. There are things I’d do differently, but I don’t think I would run it as well as Bob has run it.
There’s certainly no argument that, as a business, the Disney Parks have been run “well.” Despite all the price increases, there has been no noticeable impact on attendance, indicating that guests are willing to pay the asking price. Disney’s Experiences division reported record revenue last quarter. That said, there is a lot of frustration because of things like Lighting Lane, which allows guests to skip lines, a service that used to be free, but now costs money.
It used to be a goal at Disney Parks to have “everybody be a VIP,” as Eisner says, but that’s simply not the case now. If you can afford to pay for all the various additional services, you can have an amazing time, but those who can’t afford it get left out.
To Be Fair, Michael Eisner Kinda Started It
It is interesting to hear Michael Eisner say this, because it’s hard to argue that this didn’t start under him. When Eisner became CEO in 1984, he didn’t think the parks were charging what they were worth. Disneyland tickets were about $18 in 1984 when Eisner took control. When he left in 2005, that same ticket was nearly $60.
That said, we saw a lot of great new attractions added to Disneyland, as well as several new Disney theme parks all over the world. But Eisner’s ticket price increases continued under Bob Iger, and we’ve seen price increases every year. Today, a single-day ticket at Disneyland can cost over $200 during the high season. Some families simply can’t afford the price to get in the gate because it’s so expensive.
It’s nice to hear that Michael Eisner does think that charging for additional perks is a step he might not have taken. FastPass was started under Eisner and remained free throughout his time and for years after, while many other theme parks began charging for line skipping. Perhaps this was because Eisner was against the idea.
Maybe we’ll be lucky and discover that Disney’s next CEO feels the same way. While it’s unlikely that we’ll see any massive shifts in the way Disney Parks go to market, since D’Amaro was the head of the Experiences division previously, maybe now that he’s in charge, he’ll take the comments of this former CEO to heart. It’s unlikely that things will revert to the way they were, but if they don’t get worse, that’s something.
